Quasi-Isochronous Muon Collection Channels

Intense muon beams have many potential commercial and scientific applications, ranging from low-energy investigations of the basic properties of matter using spin resonance to large energy muon colliders. However, muons originate from a tertiary process that produces a diffuse swarm. To make useful beams, the swarm must be rapidly captured and cooled before the muons decay. This project will investigate a promising new concept for the collection and cooling of muon beams to increase their intensity and reduce their emittances: the use of a nearly isochronous helical cooling channel (HCC) to facilitate the capture of the muons into several RF bunches. Such a distribution could be cooled quickly and coalesced efficiently to optimize the luminosity of a muon collider, or could provide compressed muon beams for other applications. In Phase I, simulations will be performed to optimize an HCC for muon capture, and a preliminary examination of the integration of this subsystem into the rest of a muon collider facility will be carried out. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: Bright muon beams are needed for many scientific and commercial applications. Scientific uses include low energy beams for rare process searches, muon spin resonance, muon beams for neutrino factories, and muon colliders as Higgs factories or energy-frontier discovery machines. Commercial applications include the use of muon beams to screen cargo containers for homeland security, low-dose radiography, and muon catalyzed fusion.